Grooming offences against children from Bristol have nearly doubled in just a year, shocking new statistics reveal.

Figures issued by the Home Office showed there were a total of 1,771 grooming offences recorded across the UK in the year to June – up from 1,080 in the previous year.

Alarmingly, in Bristol, 65 grooming offences were recorded over the same timeframe – a rise from 35 in 2015/16.

NSPCC chief executive Peter Wanless said: “This is an enormous rise in recorded grooming offences over such a short period, and the fact that records of grooming offences have increased substantially more than most other crimes shows the need for urgent action.